Thirteen kids ages 5 to 14 and some grown-ups attended a seed starting day Friday at the Lyons Township District Library.

The event, part of the library's week of activities for students on spring break, was aimed at educating the community about the benefits of planting, growing, harvesting and eating from the garden, "and healthy eating in general," said Jennifer Dugan, who planned the program.

Participants enjoyed healthy snacks of apples, celery and strawberries served with peanut butter; listened to Carol Wood read "Strega Nona" by Tomie de Paola; and learned a bit about the steps involved in creating, planting and caring for a garden before planting their own seeds, which included two types of tomatoes, sweet peppers, parsley, oregano and sage. The plants will stay in their greenhouse container at the library until they sprout, and the young gardeners were invited to stop by to watch the seedlings' progress.

"When the plants are big enough, (participants) will come to our house and plant them in our garden," said Dugan. "Throughout the summer, they can come and watch, and see the different stages of gardening."

At the end of season, the kids will have a harvest party and use the vegetables and herbs to make salad or salsa. Any extra produce will be donated to the Muir Christian Food Pantry, Dugan said, adding that her garden, The Higbee Acre, which her family started last year, already grows produce for the pantry.

"We hope to get people interested in the process of gardening, and to realize food tastes better when it comes out of the garden," she said. "It's better for you, it is possible – you don't need a huge area to grow plants, it's good to know how to be self-sufficient, and it's cheaper."

Dugan said people interested in starting their own gardens are welcome to come and check out her garden, and she and her husband, Mark, will be "more than happy to answer questions about how to prepare the ground, what can be grown or to see how it is done."

Seed starting day was co-sponsored by the Ionia County Community Food Network, which provided a grant for supplies, The Higbee Acre Farm and the Friends of the Lyons Township District Library.

For more information and to see updates on the seedlings, visit the Lyons Muir (MI) Community Events page on Facebook, or stop by the library.